Posts by Orlando Radicehttp://www.thejc.com/user/feed/4335
RSS feed of user postsenIran agreement contains 'secret side deals that Kerry has not seen'http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/141116/iran-agreement-contains-secret-side-deals-kerry-has-not-seen
<p>Two Republican members of the US Congress claim that the nuclear deal with Iran hinges on two secret side agreements that the Obama administration has not seen.</p>
<p>The agreements between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran on how the Islamic Republic would comply with checks on its bomb-making programme were uncovered by chance by Congressmen Mike Pompeo and Tom Cotton while meeting members of the nuclear monitoring agency in Vienna.</p>
<p>Mr Pompeo told the Washington Post that while he and Mr Cotton were meeting the deputy director of the IAEA and the agency’s two top Iran negotiators just days after the nuclear deal was announced, they asked how the agency would carry out verification at the Iranian military complex at Parchin.</p>
<p>IAEA officials told them, that the details were all covered in agreements negotiated between the IAEA and the Iranian government. </p>
<p>When Mr Pompeo asked to see those agreements, IAEA officials reportedly replied: “Oh no, of course not, no, you’re not going to get to see those.” </p>
<p>When asked if Secretary of State John Kerry had seen the documents, the official said: “No, Secretary Kerry hasn’t seen them. No American is ever going to get to see them.”</p>
<p>Mr Pompeo told the Washington Post: “We need to see these documents in order to evaluate whether or not verification is ample to make such a big concession to the Iranians. No member of Congress should be asked to vote on an agreement of this historic importance without knowing what the terms of the verification process are.”</p>
<p>According to Republican Senator Bob Menendez, one of the side deals governing inspections of the Parchin military complex allows Iran to collect its own soil samples, instead of IAEA inspectors. </p>
<p>“I suspect if we’re able to actually go over [these agreements], you find half a dozen that you would stare at and realize we really didn’t get verification,” Mr Pompeo said.</p>World newsIranNuclear weapons141116storyhttp://www.thejc.com/files/IranMissileTest_3.jpg

140964Iran deal may reignite the peace process140942WATCH: Celebrities back the Iran Deal
Two Republican members of the US Congress claim that the nuclear deal with Iran hinges on two secret side agreements that the Obama administration has not seen.
The agreements between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran on how the Islamic Republic would comply with checks on its bomb-making programme were uncovered by chance by Congressmen Mike Pompeo and Tom Cotton while meeting members of the nuclear monitoring agency in Vienna.
Mr Pompeo told the Washington Post that while he and Mr Cotton were meeting the deputy director of the IAEA and the agency’s two top Iran negotiators just days after the nuclear deal was announced, they asked how the agency would carry out verification at the Iranian military complex at Parchin.
IAEA officials told them, that the details were all covered in agreements negotiated between the IAEA and the Iranian government.
When Mr Pompeo asked to see those agreements, IAEA officials reportedly replied: “Oh no, of course not, no, you’re not going to get to see those.”
When asked if Secretary of State John Kerry had seen the documents, the official said: “No, Secretary Kerry hasn’t seen them. No American is ever going to get to see them.”
Mr Pompeo told the Washington Post: “We need to see these documents in order to evaluate whether or not verification is ample to make such a big concession to the Iranians. No member of Congress should be asked to vote on an agreement of this historic importance without knowing what the terms of the verification process are.”
According to Republican Senator Bob Menendez, one of the side deals governing inspections of the Parchin military complex allows Iran to collect its own soil samples, instead of IAEA inspectors.
“I suspect if we’re able to actually go over [these agreements], you find half a dozen that you would stare at and realize we really didn’t get verification,” Mr Pompeo said.
Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:44:08 +0100Orlando Radice141116 at http://www.thejc.comIsrael now key hub of anti-Daesh operationshttp://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/141076/israel-now-key-hub-anti-daesh-operations
<p>Israel is at the centre of a regional military campaign against terror organisation Daesh.</p>
<p>Advances on several fronts by the jihadi movement </3a>(sometimes known as ISIL)</3b> are pushing Egypt and Jordan to unprecedented levels of security co-operation with the Jewish state.</p>
<p>Senior Israeli defence officials this week said that military ties with Egypt had "never been closer". </p>
<p>Last week a senior US official revealed that Israel had transferred 16 helicopter gunships to Jordan to help the Hashemite Kingdom secure its borders. </p>
<p>"A new strategic map is being created in this part of the Middle East," said Oded Eran, a former Israeli ambassador to Jordan and senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.</p>
<p>"The common threat is making this co-operation essential to the security of all three countries."</p>
<p>Mike Herzog, a retired IDF brigadier general, said: "Israel and its neighbours share concerns about jihadi terror. </p>
<p>"Below the radar there is productive co-operation between Israel and key Arab countries, especially its neighbours Egypt and Jordan, focused on common security threats." </p>
<p>There is also evidence that Israel's relations with Turkey, which launched its own bombing campaign against Daesh last week, are improving. </p>
<p>Although Israel and Jordan have had diplomatic ties for two decades, arms deals are still very rare and the supply of the US manufactured Bell AH-1 HueyCobras - which have been heavily modified and upgraded during their 30 years of service in the Israeli Air Force - is a significant step towards closer security co-operation. </p>
<p>Over the past two years there have been reports that Jordan has allowed Israeli drones into its airspace for surveillance flights over its borders with Syria and Iraq.</p>
<p>Mr Oded said: "What is new is the quality of the equipment transferred to Jordan by Israel and the intensity of the intelligence cooperation. Those groups who tried to cross into Jordan from Iraq before did not have the Daesh ideology, but they do now. There are already thousands of Jordanian who cross the border to fight with Daesh; the attack helicopters that Israel sent to Jordan are likely to be used to patrol those borders."</p>
<p>Egypt is also facing an increasing threat from Daesh affiliate Wallyat-Sinai (formerly known as Ansar bait al-Makdas). </p>
<p>In the past month, Wallyat-Sinai has carried out attacks on multiple military targets, killing dozens of Egyptian soldiers. </p>
<p>Israel and Egypt are working together closely to try to intercept weapons and funds destined for Sinai jihadis.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a former ally of Israel, Turkey, has also been forced to take on Daesh after a long period in which it was accused of turning a blind eye. Spurred by recent jihadi bomb attacks, Turkey sent out jets to strike Daesh in Syria last week.</p>
<p>Turkey's renewed cooperation with the US has led to rumours that ongoing talks between Israeli and Turkish diplomats may bring about a return to some degree of co-operation between the two countries.</p>Israel newsIslamic State141076storyhttp://www.thejc.com/files/ISISjihadiWEB_0.jpg

139220Israel and Egypt work to tackle Daesh138667Expert warns on Daesh terror threat to European Jews
Israel is at the centre of a regional military campaign against terror organisation Daesh.
Advances on several fronts by the jihadi movement (sometimes known as ISIL) are pushing Egypt and Jordan to unprecedented levels of security co-operation with the Jewish state.
Senior Israeli defence officials this week said that military ties with Egypt had "never been closer".
Last week a senior US official revealed that Israel had transferred 16 helicopter gunships to Jordan to help the Hashemite Kingdom secure its borders.
"A new strategic map is being created in this part of the Middle East," said Oded Eran, a former Israeli ambassador to Jordan and senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
"The common threat is making this co-operation essential to the security of all three countries."
Mike Herzog, a retired IDF brigadier general, said: "Israel and its neighbours share concerns about jihadi terror.
"Below the radar there is productive co-operation between Israel and key Arab countries, especially its neighbours Egypt and Jordan, focused on common security threats."
There is also evidence that Israel's relations with Turkey, which launched its own bombing campaign against Daesh last week, are improving.
Although Israel and Jordan have had diplomatic ties for two decades, arms deals are still very rare and the supply of the US manufactured Bell AH-1 HueyCobras - which have been heavily modified and upgraded during their 30 years of service in the Israeli Air Force - is a significant step towards closer security co-operation.
Over the past two years there have been reports that Jordan has allowed Israeli drones into its airspace for surveillance flights over its borders with Syria and Iraq.
Mr Oded said: "What is new is the quality of the equipment transferred to Jordan by Israel and the intensity of the intelligence cooperation. Those groups who tried to cross into Jordan from Iraq before did not have the Daesh ideology, but they do now. There are already thousands of Jordanian who cross the border to fight with Daesh; the attack helicopters that Israel sent to Jordan are likely to be used to patrol those borders."
Egypt is also facing an increasing threat from Daesh affiliate Wallyat-Sinai (formerly known as Ansar bait al-Makdas).
In the past month, Wallyat-Sinai has carried out attacks on multiple military targets, killing dozens of Egyptian soldiers.
Israel and Egypt are working together closely to try to intercept weapons and funds destined for Sinai jihadis.
Meanwhile, a former ally of Israel, Turkey, has also been forced to take on Daesh after a long period in which it was accused of turning a blind eye. Spurred by recent jihadi bomb attacks, Turkey sent out jets to strike Daesh in Syria last week.
Turkey's renewed cooperation with the US has led to rumours that ongoing talks between Israeli and Turkish diplomats may bring about a return to some degree of co-operation between the two countries.
Thu, 30 Jul 2015 13:11:08 +0100Orlando Radice141076 at http://www.thejc.comMembers of Israeli security establishment contradict Netanyahu’s view of Iran dealhttp://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/140630/members-israeli-security-establishment-contradict-netanyahu%E2%80%99s-view-iran-deal
<p>Some of Israel’s top security experts are contradicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s view that the Iran deal was a “historic mistake”.</p>
<p>Ehud Barak, a former chief of military intelligence and prime minister, who helped Mr Netanyahu develop his strategy on Iran while serving as defence minister from 2009 to 2013, said in a TV interview: “Israel can live with whatever happens there [in Iran]. We are the strongest state in the Middle East, militarily, strategically, economically — and diplomatically, if we’re not foolish.”</p>
<p>Although </2a>Mr Barak called the agreement a “bad deal”</2b>, he added: “The most important thing we need to do right now is restore working relations with the White House. That’s the only place where we can formulate what constitutes a violation, what’s a smoking gun and how to respond.”</p>
<p>Israel, Mr Barak said, is “not in an apocalyptic situation. We are not in Europe 1938 and not Palestine 1947”, when Israel fought off five Arab armies.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Amos Yadlin, a former military intelligence chief, said in a Ynet interview: “The agreement isn’t good, but Israel can deal with it.” </p>
<p>Instead of “blowing off steam”, he said, Israel should be talking to the United States to prepare responses to violations.</p>
<p>Yitzhak Ben-Yisrael , who now chairs both The Israel Space Agency and the science ministry’s research and development council and has twice won the Israel Prize for contributions to Israel’s weapons technology, told Walla! News that the Vienna deal was “not bad at all, perhaps even good for Israel… it prevents a nuclear bomb for 15 years, which is not bad at all.”</p>Israel news140630storyhttp://www.thejc.com/files/IranMissileTest_2.jpg

140352WATCH Another disagreement on the Iran Deal: Obama spars with Jon Stewart139910WATCH: Hammond and Netanyahu go head to head over Iran deal
Some of Israel’s top security experts are contradicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s view that the Iran deal was a “historic mistake”.
Ehud Barak, a former chief of military intelligence and prime minister, who helped Mr Netanyahu develop his strategy on Iran while serving as defence minister from 2009 to 2013, said in a TV interview: “Israel can live with whatever happens there [in Iran]. We are the strongest state in the Middle East, militarily, strategically, economically — and diplomatically, if we’re not foolish.”
Although Mr Barak called the agreement a “bad deal”, he added: “The most important thing we need to do right now is restore working relations with the White House. That’s the only place where we can formulate what constitutes a violation, what’s a smoking gun and how to respond.”
Israel, Mr Barak said, is “not in an apocalyptic situation. We are not in Europe 1938 and not Palestine 1947”, when Israel fought off five Arab armies.
Meanwhile, Amos Yadlin, a former military intelligence chief, said in a Ynet interview: “The agreement isn’t good, but Israel can deal with it.”
Instead of “blowing off steam”, he said, Israel should be talking to the United States to prepare responses to violations.
Yitzhak Ben-Yisrael , who now chairs both The Israel Space Agency and the science ministry’s research and development council and has twice won the Israel Prize for contributions to Israel’s weapons technology, told Walla! News that the Vienna deal was “not bad at all, perhaps even good for Israel… it prevents a nuclear bomb for 15 years, which is not bad at all.”
Fri, 24 Jul 2015 16:41:04 +0100Orlando Radice140630 at http://www.thejc.comExpert warns on Daesh terror threat to European Jewshttp://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/138667/expert-warns-daesh-terror-threat-european-jews
<p>One of Britain's most senior terror experts has warned that competition between jihadi groups is contributing towards a newly heightened threat against European Jews. </p>
<p>Peter Neumann, director of International Centre for the Study of the Radicalisation and Political Violence at King's College London said that a growing battle for influence between Al Qaeda and Daesh (sometimes known as Isis) "will be suffered by Jewish institutions here in Europe".</p>
<p>Mr Neumann argued that security services in Europe are "struggling to cope" and that "the threat we are facing is more severe than it's been in past 10 to 15 years".</p>
<p>Last Friday, Daesh carried out a wave of attacks around the world, including the massacre of 30 British holidaymakers in Tunisia.</p>
<p>The battle between the jihadi networks is having a direct impact on the terror threat in Europe, Mr Neumann said. "Al Qaeda still exists, they have supporters. As we found out in the case of Charlie Hebdo, they feel under pressure to show that they still exist and that Daesh is not the only game in town."</p>
<p>Anthony Glees, Director of the Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham, agreed that Jews were among the jihadis' main targets, and that the coming days will be especially dangerous after Daesh spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani said this week that Ramadan would be a "calamity for kuffars".</p>
<p>Mr Glees said: "I think that the Ramadan call was very significant and spells mortal danger for the weeks that lie ahead if there is not a heavy response now on the part of Western states towards Daesh. </p>
<p>"We know this from Osama bin Laden. His two fatwas at the end of the last century were very significant acts of mobilisation."</p>
<p>Nick Kaderbhai, a research fellow at ICSR, agreed that Jews remain near the top of the jihadi hit list. "Jews are an obvious target, a soft target. </p>
<p>An Islamist could call for an attack on a piece of infrastructure but in the end it's easier to go and firebomb a shul." </p>
<p>Mr Glees added that the reasons why Jews were in the firing line "go back 1,000 years, to the ridiculous radicalising stories that have risen about the birth of the State of Israel. Arabs have been fed on a series of falsehoods and half-truths - as well as truths - and that will inevitably put Jews at the top of a list of victims."</p>
<p>However, he stressed that in his view, the overall threat posed to the West had been overplayed, adding that the capabilities of groups such as Daesh were minimal compared to those of the UK, which has "massive security assets". </p>
<p>He said: "I wouldn't want to minimise [the threat]… But with the tragic exception of Lee Rigby, what has been notable has been our success in containing and oppressing the threat. What this tells me is that good intelligence activity can keep us safe."</p>
<p>● Communal groups came together on Tuesday to rehearse their public affairs responses to a terror attack. The JLC, Board of Deputies, UJIA, Bicom and CST took part, with observers present from the Office of the Chief Rabbi and the APG against Antisemitism.</p>UK news138667storyJihadis ‘competing’ on terror, says experthttp://www.thejc.com/files/GettyImages-479038506.jpg

A woman lays flowers at the site of the massacre in Tunisia (Picture: Getty)

138670The ‘lone’ terrorists are never alone138672Daesh, IS, ISIS, ISIL
One of Britain's most senior terror experts has warned that competition between jihadi groups is contributing towards a newly heightened threat against European Jews.
Peter Neumann, director of International Centre for the Study of the Radicalisation and Political Violence at King's College London said that a growing battle for influence between Al Qaeda and Daesh (sometimes known as Isis) "will be suffered by Jewish institutions here in Europe".
Mr Neumann argued that security services in Europe are "struggling to cope" and that "the threat we are facing is more severe than it's been in past 10 to 15 years".
Last Friday, Daesh carried out a wave of attacks around the world, including the massacre of 30 British holidaymakers in Tunisia.
The battle between the jihadi networks is having a direct impact on the terror threat in Europe, Mr Neumann said. "Al Qaeda still exists, they have supporters. As we found out in the case of Charlie Hebdo, they feel under pressure to show that they still exist and that Daesh is not the only game in town."
Anthony Glees, Director of the Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham, agreed that Jews were among the jihadis' main targets, and that the coming days will be especially dangerous after Daesh spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani said this week that Ramadan would be a "calamity for kuffars".
Mr Glees said: "I think that the Ramadan call was very significant and spells mortal danger for the weeks that lie ahead if there is not a heavy response now on the part of Western states towards Daesh.
"We know this from Osama bin Laden. His two fatwas at the end of the last century were very significant acts of mobilisation."
Nick Kaderbhai, a research fellow at ICSR, agreed that Jews remain near the top of the jihadi hit list. "Jews are an obvious target, a soft target.
An Islamist could call for an attack on a piece of infrastructure but in the end it's easier to go and firebomb a shul."
Mr Glees added that the reasons why Jews were in the firing line "go back 1,000 years, to the ridiculous radicalising stories that have risen about the birth of the State of Israel. Arabs have been fed on a series of falsehoods and half-truths - as well as truths - and that will inevitably put Jews at the top of a list of victims."
However, he stressed that in his view, the overall threat posed to the West had been overplayed, adding that the capabilities of groups such as Daesh were minimal compared to those of the UK, which has "massive security assets".
He said: "I wouldn't want to minimise [the threat]… But with the tragic exception of Lee Rigby, what has been notable has been our success in containing and oppressing the threat. What this tells me is that good intelligence activity can keep us safe."
● Communal groups came together on Tuesday to rehearse their public affairs responses to a terror attack. The JLC, Board of Deputies, UJIA, Bicom and CST took part, with observers present from the Office of the Chief Rabbi and the APG against Antisemitism.
Thu, 02 Jul 2015 17:53:10 +0100Orlando Radice138667 at http://www.thejc.comStrategy conference? This was all about the politicshttp://www.thejc.com/blogs/orlando-radice/strategy-conference-this-was-all-about-politics
<p>It was billed as a strategy conference and boasted an impressive line-up of guest speakers, but the only narrative truly advanced by Bicom’s UK-Israel policy event in London on Monday was that Israeli politics is a mess.</p>
<p>The Knesset is an uncomfortable place these days. The government has a majority of one and in the horse-trading that preceded the creation of the current coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to hand out roles on the basis of whether MKs would support him in Knesset votes rather than whether they were best suited to the position.</p>
<p>Enter </1a>the conference’s headline speaker, Silvan Shalom</1b>, who has three day jobs: Deputy Prime Minister, Interior Minister and head of any future peace talks. </p>
<p>Despite his latter role, he has never publicly supported the principle of two states for two peoples, and has even expressed his opposition to a Palestinian state. His appointment was so odd that it even went against Mr Netanyahu’s widely recognised need for a more doveish figure who can mollify growing international criticism of Israel on settlements and the stagnant peace process. </p>
<p>Mr Shalom could barely conceal his lack of enthusiasm for his new brief. Asked whether he still thought that settlements outside the main blocs should be removed as part of a two-state solution, he replied that there was “no sovereignty in the West Bank… Israel is a democracy, if anyone — Labour, Likud, Zionist Union — decide on that policy, then it will happen”. He added in a later briefing: “I don’t ask them [the Palestinians] to accept my ideas in advance”. </p>
<p>Several times he made the oft-repeated point that any deal will “require painful concessions on both sides” but refused to discuss what they might be. “We won’t negotiate now, we will do it with them. All the issues have to be dealt with at once. If we discuss borders now we remove the incentive for them to make concessions.”</p>
<p>Mr Shalom was not the only politician tying himself in knots to fit in with the current political reality.</p>
<p>Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog is in the difficult position of being Mr Netanyahu’s probable first choice of foreign minister — the position remains technically vacant — while trying to lead an effective opposition.</p>
<p>Mr Herzog did describe Mr Netanyahu’s statement ahead of the election that the Arabs were “voting in droves” as “unacceptable”, but tempered his attack by saying that the Prime Minister’s words were “used” by enemies to attack Israel.<br />
Mr Herzog’s discussion of BDS also smacked of compromise. While apparently concurring that the boycotters posed a danger on a par with Iran and Hizbollah — a refrain of the right — he agreed that some in the Israeli government had exaggerated the issue and “could have treated it differently”. </p>
<p>With the Iran deal looming and the boycotters moving up through the gears, one might have thought this week to have been an opportune moment for a strategy conference. In the event, any real shifts in thinking were subsumed by political exigencies.</p>http://www.thejc.com/blogs/orlando-radice/strategy-conference-this-was-all-about-politics#commentsBicomWed, 24 Jun 2015 15:33:44 +0100Orlando Radice138280 at http://www.thejc.comHawkish Israeli minister Silvan Shalom favours restart of peace talkshttp://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/138193/hawkish-israeli-minister-silvan-shalom-favours-restart-peace-talks
<p>Israeli Interior Minister Silvan Shalom has said that he is in favour of a resumption of negotiations towards a two-state solution as soon as the world powers’ talks with Iran have come to a conclusion.</p>
<p>The minister, who would head up any such diplomatic process with the Palestinians, said: “We want to resume negotiations but it takes two to tango.”</p>
<p>He added that Israel had eased travel restrictions in the West Bank for Ramadan, but that this kind of move requires “reciprocity” on the part of the Palestinians.</p>
<p>“The Palestinians have chosen the unilateral path... they want to achieve their targets at any price,” he said.</p>
<p>Mr Shalom was speaking at the UK-Israel Shared Strategic Challenges Conference organised by Israel advocacy group Bicom on Monday.</p>
<p>When asked whether he remained of the opinion that settlements outside the main blocs in the West Bank should be removed as part of a two-state solution, he replied that there was “no sovereignty in the West Bank… Israel is a democracy, if anyone – Labour, Likud, Zionist Union – decide on that policy, then it will happen”.</p>
<p>He denied that Israel’s relationship with the US was “in tatters”, as former Israeli ambassador to Washington Michael Oren recently claimed. </p>
<p>“First, we need to remember that the support for Israel is bipartisan. Also, Obama is standing with Israel in a number of very important ways. Friends can agree to differ.”</p>
<p>There was concern that former minister and IDF chief of staff Shaul Mofaz, who also spoke at the conference, risked being arrested during his time in the UK under the law of universal jurisdiction. </p>
<p>As a former official with no diplomatic immunity, there were fears that Mr Mofaz could have been pursued by pro-Palestinian groups who use UK courts to file for arrest warrants.</p>
<p>At time of publication, Mr Mofaz had not been served any arrest warrant. He refused to comment on the possibility.</p>
<p>Groups including the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights had urged the Director of Public Prosecutions, Alison Saunders, to have him arrested. Backed by Amnesty International campaigns manager Kristyan Benedict, PCHR urged supporters to contact Attorney General Jeremy Wright and have Mr Mofaz detained. </p>
<p>Mr Benedict, who was forced to apologise in 2012 after posting an offensive tweet about three Jewish MPs, wrote on Twitter: “An urgent call on the UKs Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute visiting war crimes suspect Shaul Mofaz”.</p>
<p>In an on-stage interview with Guardian journalist Jonathan Freedland, Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog said that a “bold peace plan” should be one of Israel’s primary tools to fight the boycott movement, and the current settlement policy was “adverse to our interests”.</p>
<p>“We have to move on the peace process. I demand that Netanyahu moves. If I take office I will reignite the process,” he said.</p>
<p>He added, however, that “BDS has nothing to do with settlements”, arguing that the movement was driven by those who wish to delegitimise and remove Israel from the map.</p>
<p>Asked whether he thought Israeli politicians had exaggerated the danger posed by boycotters, he agreed that the issue “could have been treated differently”. </p>
<p>Many are expecting that within a few months Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will offer Mr Herzog the position of foreign minister in order to ward off international criticism over a failing peace process. Mr Herzog refused to rule out accepting such a role, and emphasised that he and the prime minister were co-operating closely on many policy matters.</p>
<p>On Iran, Mr Herzog said that there was “no daylight” between him and Mr Netanyahu, and stressed that he would like to see a diplomatic resolution of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear threat “if the deal is reasonable”.</p>Israel newsPalestineIsraelSilvan Shalom138193storyhttp://www.thejc.com/files/Silvan_Shalom_commonswikimedia.jpg

Israeli Interior Minister, Silvan Shalom (Picture: Commons Wikimedia)

136868Tony Blair steps down as Middle East peace envoy136489Shimon Peres insists two-state solution is best way for Israel
Israeli Interior Minister Silvan Shalom has said that he is in favour of a resumption of negotiations towards a two-state solution as soon as the world powers’ talks with Iran have come to a conclusion.
The minister, who would head up any such diplomatic process with the Palestinians, said: “We want to resume negotiations but it takes two to tango.”
He added that Israel had eased travel restrictions in the West Bank for Ramadan, but that this kind of move requires “reciprocity” on the part of the Palestinians.
“The Palestinians have chosen the unilateral path... they want to achieve their targets at any price,” he said.
Mr Shalom was speaking at the UK-Israel Shared Strategic Challenges Conference organised by Israel advocacy group Bicom on Monday.
When asked whether he remained of the opinion that settlements outside the main blocs in the West Bank should be removed as part of a two-state solution, he replied that there was “no sovereignty in the West Bank… Israel is a democracy, if anyone – Labour, Likud, Zionist Union – decide on that policy, then it will happen”.
He denied that Israel’s relationship with the US was “in tatters”, as former Israeli ambassador to Washington Michael Oren recently claimed.
“First, we need to remember that the support for Israel is bipartisan. Also, Obama is standing with Israel in a number of very important ways. Friends can agree to differ.”
There was concern that former minister and IDF chief of staff Shaul Mofaz, who also spoke at the conference, risked being arrested during his time in the UK under the law of universal jurisdiction.
As a former official with no diplomatic immunity, there were fears that Mr Mofaz could have been pursued by pro-Palestinian groups who use UK courts to file for arrest warrants.
At time of publication, Mr Mofaz had not been served any arrest warrant. He refused to comment on the possibility.
Groups including the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights had urged the Director of Public Prosecutions, Alison Saunders, to have him arrested. Backed by Amnesty International campaigns manager Kristyan Benedict, PCHR urged supporters to contact Attorney General Jeremy Wright and have Mr Mofaz detained.
Mr Benedict, who was forced to apologise in 2012 after posting an offensive tweet about three Jewish MPs, wrote on Twitter: “An urgent call on the UKs Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute visiting war crimes suspect Shaul Mofaz”.
In an on-stage interview with Guardian journalist Jonathan Freedland, Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog said that a “bold peace plan” should be one of Israel’s primary tools to fight the boycott movement, and the current settlement policy was “adverse to our interests”.
“We have to move on the peace process. I demand that Netanyahu moves. If I take office I will reignite the process,” he said.
He added, however, that “BDS has nothing to do with settlements”, arguing that the movement was driven by those who wish to delegitimise and remove Israel from the map.
Asked whether he thought Israeli politicians had exaggerated the danger posed by boycotters, he agreed that the issue “could have been treated differently”.
Many are expecting that within a few months Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will offer Mr Herzog the position of foreign minister in order to ward off international criticism over a failing peace process. Mr Herzog refused to rule out accepting such a role, and emphasised that he and the prime minister were co-operating closely on many policy matters.
On Iran, Mr Herzog said that there was “no daylight” between him and Mr Netanyahu, and stressed that he would like to see a diplomatic resolution of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear threat “if the deal is reasonable”.
Mon, 22 Jun 2015 18:13:04 +0100Orlando Radice138193 at http://www.thejc.comMarine Le Pen attacks father over antisemitic remarkshttp://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/133697/marine-le-pen-attacks-father-over-antisemitic-remarks
<p>The leader of France’s National Front, Marine Le Pen, has disowned her father, Jean-Marie, after he gave interviews in which he minimised the Holocaust and defended Nazi collaborator Marshal Petain.</p>
<p>Ms Le Pen released a statement saying: “Jean-Marie Le Pen seems to be in a total spiral of a strategy somewhere between scorched earth and political suicide.”</p>
<p>“His status as honorary president does not give him the right to hijack the National Front with vulgar provocations seemingly designed to damage me, but which unfortunately hit the whole movement.”</p>
<p>She went on to say that she was convening a special meeting to discuss the “best ways to protect the political interests of the National Front”.</p>
<p>The statement marks a turning point for the National Front, a party that has long been connected to the antisemitism and neo-Nazi overtones of its co-founder, Mr Le Pen. </p>
<p>Since she took the helm in 2011, Ms Le Pen has sought to “detoxify” the party and dispel its image as a hub of right-wing extremism.</p>
<p>In an interview with BFM TV in Paris, Mr Le Pen defended his view that Hitler’s gas chambers were “a mere detail in the history of World War Two”.</p>
<p>He told the interviewer he stood by that view “because it’s the truth”.</p>
<p>In an interview with far-right weekly Rivarol this week, Mr Le Pen also defended Marshal Petain, the leader of France’s collaborationist Vichy regime, who was convicted of treason after the war. “I have never considered Petain a traitor”.</p>World newsParis133697story

119940Le Pen faces lawsuit over 'oven' jibe130703Jewish support for Marine Le Pen is deeply disturbing
The leader of France’s National Front, Marine Le Pen, has disowned her father, Jean-Marie, after he gave interviews in which he minimised the Holocaust and defended Nazi collaborator Marshal Petain.
Ms Le Pen released a statement saying: “Jean-Marie Le Pen seems to be in a total spiral of a strategy somewhere between scorched earth and political suicide.”
“His status as honorary president does not give him the right to hijack the National Front with vulgar provocations seemingly designed to damage me, but which unfortunately hit the whole movement.”
She went on to say that she was convening a special meeting to discuss the “best ways to protect the political interests of the National Front”.
The statement marks a turning point for the National Front, a party that has long been connected to the antisemitism and neo-Nazi overtones of its co-founder, Mr Le Pen.
Since she took the helm in 2011, Ms Le Pen has sought to “detoxify” the party and dispel its image as a hub of right-wing extremism.
In an interview with BFM TV in Paris, Mr Le Pen defended his view that Hitler’s gas chambers were “a mere detail in the history of World War Two”.
He told the interviewer he stood by that view “because it’s the truth”.
In an interview with far-right weekly Rivarol this week, Mr Le Pen also defended Marshal Petain, the leader of France’s collaborationist Vichy regime, who was convicted of treason after the war. “I have never considered Petain a traitor”.
Thu, 09 Apr 2015 11:18:38 +0100Orlando Radice133697 at http://www.thejc.comOn a lush plateau, jihadis swirl along Israel’s border http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/133109/on-a-lush-plateau-jihadis-swirl-along-israel%E2%80%99s-border
<p>Bright green fields stretch down the hill towards the Syrian border from the Quneitra Lookout Point in the Golan. The twitter of birds is interspersed with the pop of machine-gun fire.</p>
<p>Now and again, a puff of black smoke mushrooms up from behind a hill to the south. Everyone is war-watching. Tourists snap selfies and gaze at the horizon with binoculars. And next to the Quneitra border crossing, just a kilometre away, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (Undof) is camped on the Israeli side of the fence, having pulled out of Syria last September when the fighting in Quneitra intensified.</p>
<p>Things can still get more surreal. The IDF believes that the black flag of Islamic State (IS) could yet be seen flying a few kilometres from the border on the Syrian side. </p>
<p>A mix of jihadi and rebel groups — which include al-Qaeda ally Jabhat al-Nusra — are in possession of Quneitra’s old town, while Syrian government troops control the new town. According to one IDF official: “Any of those anti-government forces could one day declare allegiance to IS, and then we’d have the full spectrum of these charming people on our borders.” </p>
<p>Winter snows have kept a lid on the fighting but with the onset of spring, the fierce battles that saw Undof pull out of Quneitra are expected to return.</p>
<p>After Syria collapsed into war, the IDF established an intelligence-gathering unit to keep a close eye on a border that had been quiet since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. </p>
<p>In the past two years, there has been an increasing number of incidents in which fire has been directed at Israeli troops. The IDF has always responded by targeting the precise source of the attack — whether a mortar on a pick-up truck or a group of foot soldiers — in an effort to avoid escalation. </p>
<p>For the IDF, the immediate conflict can be contained, but the wider concern is strategic. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has kept his best divisions ranged around him in Damascus, and the rebel groups are generally poorly armed and only capable of low-intensity warfare.</p>
<p>However, Hizbollah, the Iran-backed Shia army that has tens of thousands of long-range missiles stationed in southern Lebanon, has been gaining combat experience as it supports Syrian government troops against the rebels. According to an IDF official, it has a battalion-strength force at work in the Syrian Golan.<br />
The Syrian Civil War also brought new challenges to the Zif hospital in Zefat, around 30km from the Quneitra crossing inside Israel. </p>
<p>Anthony Luder, head of paediatrics at the hospital, said: “Back in February 2013, military ambulances turned up with seven Syrian patients. At first, the reaction was: what is this? But then we switched into medical mode.”<br />
To date, the hospital has treated 459 Syrians — many of whom are young combatants — out of a total of around 1,000 admitted in other medical centres in the north of Israel.</p>
<p>Many of the Syrian patients are fitting with expensive prosthetics, which have to be specially prepared so that they bare no trace of their Israeli origins. </p>
<p>In a ward for Syrian males, a bearded 27-year-old fighter lies in bed; both of his arms are missing. He explains that he was injured when his village, 4km from the Israeli border, was hit by artillery.<br />
“I didn’t expect any friendly contact with Israel,” he said. “The situation is terrible there. There is bombing every day.” </p>
<p>“We don’t ask them which group they belong to,” said Mr Luder, “our role is to treat them. For me, this is a sign of the quality of this country. We even have a human feeling for our enemies.” </p>World newsIDFSyria133109story

128086‘Syria building new nuclear reactor’ 126615Iran drones smashed in Syria air strike
Bright green fields stretch down the hill towards the Syrian border from the Quneitra Lookout Point in the Golan. The twitter of birds is interspersed with the pop of machine-gun fire.
Now and again, a puff of black smoke mushrooms up from behind a hill to the south. Everyone is war-watching. Tourists snap selfies and gaze at the horizon with binoculars. And next to the Quneitra border crossing, just a kilometre away, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (Undof) is camped on the Israeli side of the fence, having pulled out of Syria last September when the fighting in Quneitra intensified.
Things can still get more surreal. The IDF believes that the black flag of Islamic State (IS) could yet be seen flying a few kilometres from the border on the Syrian side.
A mix of jihadi and rebel groups — which include al-Qaeda ally Jabhat al-Nusra — are in possession of Quneitra’s old town, while Syrian government troops control the new town. According to one IDF official: “Any of those anti-government forces could one day declare allegiance to IS, and then we’d have the full spectrum of these charming people on our borders.”
Winter snows have kept a lid on the fighting but with the onset of spring, the fierce battles that saw Undof pull out of Quneitra are expected to return.
After Syria collapsed into war, the IDF established an intelligence-gathering unit to keep a close eye on a border that had been quiet since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
In the past two years, there has been an increasing number of incidents in which fire has been directed at Israeli troops. The IDF has always responded by targeting the precise source of the attack — whether a mortar on a pick-up truck or a group of foot soldiers — in an effort to avoid escalation.
For the IDF, the immediate conflict can be contained, but the wider concern is strategic. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has kept his best divisions ranged around him in Damascus, and the rebel groups are generally poorly armed and only capable of low-intensity warfare.
However, Hizbollah, the Iran-backed Shia army that has tens of thousands of long-range missiles stationed in southern Lebanon, has been gaining combat experience as it supports Syrian government troops against the rebels. According to an IDF official, it has a battalion-strength force at work in the Syrian Golan.
The Syrian Civil War also brought new challenges to the Zif hospital in Zefat, around 30km from the Quneitra crossing inside Israel.
Anthony Luder, head of paediatrics at the hospital, said: “Back in February 2013, military ambulances turned up with seven Syrian patients. At first, the reaction was: what is this? But then we switched into medical mode.”
To date, the hospital has treated 459 Syrians — many of whom are young combatants — out of a total of around 1,000 admitted in other medical centres in the north of Israel.
Many of the Syrian patients are fitting with expensive prosthetics, which have to be specially prepared so that they bare no trace of their Israeli origins.
In a ward for Syrian males, a bearded 27-year-old fighter lies in bed; both of his arms are missing. He explains that he was injured when his village, 4km from the Israeli border, was hit by artillery.
“I didn’t expect any friendly contact with Israel,” he said. “The situation is terrible there. There is bombing every day.”
“We don’t ask them which group they belong to,” said Mr Luder, “our role is to treat them. For me, this is a sign of the quality of this country. We even have a human feeling for our enemies.”
Wed, 01 Apr 2015 18:03:11 +0100Orlando Radice133109 at http://www.thejc.comBenjamin Netanyahu grabs victory against the oddshttp://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/131963/benjamin-netanyahu-grabs-victory-against-odds
<p>Don’t let anybody tell you that they saw this coming. </p>
<p>Not the advisers who crafted the campaigns of the leading parties, not even the expert pollsters. No one was predicting an eight-seat leap for Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud in the final days of the contest.</p>
<p>The first sign of a turnaround in the results was the smile on the face of Mr Netanyahu’s spin-doctor, Nir Hefetz, as he walked into the Likud headquarters at 9.30pm.</p>
<p>He was listening to a source at one of the television channels leaking him the exit polls which were due to be broadcast half an hour later. </p>
<p>At that point, the news that Mr Netanyhu’s Likud had closed the gap with Zionist Union was enough. </p>
<p>For the man who has taken a lot of the blame for what was seen as a failing election campaign, it was a rare moment of satisfaction. </p>
<p>No one had even dared to imagine that five hours later, with the prime minister’s victory speech over and as the last celebrating Likud members departed the convention centre, the actual results would indicate that it was now Likud opening a gap, eventually leading Zionist Union by six seats. </p>
<p>It was a night of two victory speeches as Labour Party and Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog had also announced that he would be seeking to form a coalition. </p>
<p>But once the full results were known in the morning, Mr Herzog called his opponent and conceded. </p>
<p>“Serving in opposition is the only realistic option for us,” he said at the first meeting on Wednesday afternoon of the party’s newly elected Knesset members. </p>
<p>The surprise was even greater given the widespread belief that Mr Netanyahu had failed to understand the Likudniks who accepted his security agenda but this time were going to vote on more pressing issues: sky high food and house prices.</p>
<p>On Monday, 24 hours before voting began, leading pollster Mitchell Barak had declared Mr Netanyahu’s campaign his “worst ever”.</p>
<p>Even Likud’s chief campaign strategist, Aaron Shaviv, seemed resigned.</p>
<p>The problem, he said, was that Likud voters had been tempted by a “package deal” — they believed they could vote for a centrist party within a potential right-wing coalition but still get Mr Netanyahu as the prime minister. </p>
<p>Mr Shaviv said: “We have been pushing the point that this won’t work. We say: if you don’t vote for Likud, you won’t get Netahyahu.”</p>
<p>The realisation of the danger posed by the centrist parties, combined with a final pre-election poll that put Likud four seats behind Zionist Union, galvanised the party to fight for its life. It also won the election for them.</p>
<p>The message pumped out to Israeli voters in the last-minute media blitz was: you are about to get a government that will leave you at the mercy of the wolves.</p>
<p>In an interview on Monday, Mr Netanyahu said that if re-elected he would not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state, that the left’s goal of re-entering peace talks in the hope of achieving a two-state solution would result in a threat to security.</p>
<p>“In the current circumstances in the Middle East, any territory that you vacate will be used for an armed Islamist state against us,” Mr Netanyahu said. </p>
<p>“That’s exactly what happened in Lebanon. That’s what happened in Gaza. And since the Arab Spring, that’s what’s going to happen exactly in the West Bank — in Judea and Samaria — if we vacate territory.”</p>
<p>As Mr Shaviv said, the Israeli right are security-minded “in their DNA” and, in the last days of his campaign, Mr Netanyahu spoke to their deepest concerns. </p>
<p>That the Likud surge was the result of right-wing voters deciding not to vote for the other smaller, right-leaning parties vindicated Likud’s last-minute tactic: only an experienced big-gun such as Mr Netanyahu could address this core anxiety.</p>
<p>Some of Likud’s success may be put down to mistakes made by the Zionist Union, who, according to a member of its campaign team, were “cautiously optimistic” at lunchtime on election day.</p>
<p>Most observers agree that the Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog made a major mistake when he agreed to share a potential premiership with Tzipi Livni early in the campaign. </p>
<p>Mr Barak said: “Livni was a drag on the ticket according to my polls… and Herzog looked like he lacked self-confidence when he agreed to share power. He was just about to gain traction — polling at about 20 per cent support early on in the campaign, which is a good start — when he brought in Livni and lost momentum.”</p>
<p>It was an error the party sought to undo the day before the election when Ms Livni said she would withdraw from the shared premiership deal.</p>
<p>Experts said the Zionist Union could have extended its lead over Likud if Mr Herzog had presented himself to voters in a more personal way. </p>
<p>Mr Barak said: “His uncle was [Israeli diplomat and politican] Abba Eban — he should have leveraged that. Eban is the best diplomat we had – but we heard nothing about it.”</p>
<p>One survey found that few Israelis knew much about Mr Herzog. </p>
<p>“He has not done a good job of introducing himself. This has been some mild-mannered guy going against Superman,” said Mr Barak. </p>
<p>Indeed, throughout the campaign, leadership polls consistently showed Mr Herzog at least 20 percentage points behind Mr Netanyahu.</p>
<p>The wider story is that Israeli electorate is fundamentally split. Around 20 per cent of them left it until the last minute to decide who to vote for, underlining the instability that has endured since the last election in 2013.</p>
<p>The centrist vote was split between two parties — but it was bigger than last time. Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu party won 10 seats and Yesh Atid took 11, overall two more than the 19 seats won by Yair Lapid’s party in 2013.</p>Israel newsIsraeli electionsBenjamin Netanyahu131963storyhttp://www.thejc.com/files/F150316YS06.jpg

Benjamin Netanyahu pulled it off again (Photo: Flash 90)

131961White House rethink on peace talks after Netanyahu election victory131897Exit polls: Likud closes gap with Zionist Union
Don’t let anybody tell you that they saw this coming.
Not the advisers who crafted the campaigns of the leading parties, not even the expert pollsters. No one was predicting an eight-seat leap for Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud in the final days of the contest.
The first sign of a turnaround in the results was the smile on the face of Mr Netanyahu’s spin-doctor, Nir Hefetz, as he walked into the Likud headquarters at 9.30pm.
He was listening to a source at one of the television channels leaking him the exit polls which were due to be broadcast half an hour later.
At that point, the news that Mr Netanyhu’s Likud had closed the gap with Zionist Union was enough.
For the man who has taken a lot of the blame for what was seen as a failing election campaign, it was a rare moment of satisfaction.
No one had even dared to imagine that five hours later, with the prime minister’s victory speech over and as the last celebrating Likud members departed the convention centre, the actual results would indicate that it was now Likud opening a gap, eventually leading Zionist Union by six seats.
It was a night of two victory speeches as Labour Party and Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog had also announced that he would be seeking to form a coalition.
But once the full results were known in the morning, Mr Herzog called his opponent and conceded.
“Serving in opposition is the only realistic option for us,” he said at the first meeting on Wednesday afternoon of the party’s newly elected Knesset members.
The surprise was even greater given the widespread belief that Mr Netanyahu had failed to understand the Likudniks who accepted his security agenda but this time were going to vote on more pressing issues: sky high food and house prices.
On Monday, 24 hours before voting began, leading pollster Mitchell Barak had declared Mr Netanyahu’s campaign his “worst ever”.
Even Likud’s chief campaign strategist, Aaron Shaviv, seemed resigned.
The problem, he said, was that Likud voters had been tempted by a “package deal” — they believed they could vote for a centrist party within a potential right-wing coalition but still get Mr Netanyahu as the prime minister.
Mr Shaviv said: “We have been pushing the point that this won’t work. We say: if you don’t vote for Likud, you won’t get Netahyahu.”
The realisation of the danger posed by the centrist parties, combined with a final pre-election poll that put Likud four seats behind Zionist Union, galvanised the party to fight for its life. It also won the election for them.
The message pumped out to Israeli voters in the last-minute media blitz was: you are about to get a government that will leave you at the mercy of the wolves.
In an interview on Monday, Mr Netanyahu said that if re-elected he would not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state, that the left’s goal of re-entering peace talks in the hope of achieving a two-state solution would result in a threat to security.
“In the current circumstances in the Middle East, any territory that you vacate will be used for an armed Islamist state against us,” Mr Netanyahu said.
“That’s exactly what happened in Lebanon. That’s what happened in Gaza. And since the Arab Spring, that’s what’s going to happen exactly in the West Bank — in Judea and Samaria — if we vacate territory.”
As Mr Shaviv said, the Israeli right are security-minded “in their DNA” and, in the last days of his campaign, Mr Netanyahu spoke to their deepest concerns.
That the Likud surge was the result of right-wing voters deciding not to vote for the other smaller, right-leaning parties vindicated Likud’s last-minute tactic: only an experienced big-gun such as Mr Netanyahu could address this core anxiety.
Some of Likud’s success may be put down to mistakes made by the Zionist Union, who, according to a member of its campaign team, were “cautiously optimistic” at lunchtime on election day.
Most observers agree that the Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog made a major mistake when he agreed to share a potential premiership with Tzipi Livni early in the campaign.
Mr Barak said: “Livni was a drag on the ticket according to my polls… and Herzog looked like he lacked self-confidence when he agreed to share power. He was just about to gain traction — polling at about 20 per cent support early on in the campaign, which is a good start — when he brought in Livni and lost momentum.”
It was an error the party sought to undo the day before the election when Ms Livni said she would withdraw from the shared premiership deal.
Experts said the Zionist Union could have extended its lead over Likud if Mr Herzog had presented himself to voters in a more personal way.
Mr Barak said: “His uncle was [Israeli diplomat and politican] Abba Eban — he should have leveraged that. Eban is the best diplomat we had – but we heard nothing about it.”
One survey found that few Israelis knew much about Mr Herzog.
“He has not done a good job of introducing himself. This has been some mild-mannered guy going against Superman,” said Mr Barak.
Indeed, throughout the campaign, leadership polls consistently showed Mr Herzog at least 20 percentage points behind Mr Netanyahu.
The wider story is that Israeli electorate is fundamentally split. Around 20 per cent of them left it until the last minute to decide who to vote for, underlining the instability that has endured since the last election in 2013.
The centrist vote was split between two parties — but it was bigger than last time. Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu party won 10 seats and Yesh Atid took 11, overall two more than the 19 seats won by Yair Lapid’s party in 2013.
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 20:14:44 +0000Orlando Radice131963 at http://www.thejc.comHuge turnaround as Netanyahu snatches victoryhttp://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/131898/huge-turnaround-netanyahu-snatches-victory
<p>In a remarkable last-minute turnaround, Benjamin Netanyahu has achieved a resounding victory in the Israeli elections.</p>
<p>With 99 per cent of ballots counted by 6am this morning local time, Likud emerged with 30 seats, six ahead of the next largest party bloc, Zionist Union, which won 24 seats.</p>
<p>Exit polls released at around 10pm the night before had indicated parity between the two main blocks. </p>
<p>This represented a major turnaround for Likud since the last pre-election poll was conducted on Friday, and at 1am Mr Netanyahu was already claiming a victory “against all odds”.</p>
<p>It is now certain that the next coalition will be led by Mr Netanyahu; probably composed of right-wing and religious parties.</p>
<p>Moshe Kahlon, leader of centrist party Kulanu, won 10 seats, and will still play a key role in helping Mr Netanyahu to build his coalition.</p>
<p>Left-wing party Meretz took four seats, and leader Zehava Galon said that she would resign. </p>
<p>The Arab Joint List was the third-largest party with 14 seats; followed by Yesh Atid with 11. Jewish Home took eight; Shas won seven, and Yisrael Beiteinu and United Torah Judaism took six each. It appeared that far-right party Yachad had failed to cross the electoral threshold.</p>
<p>Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that he expected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form the next government and that the Palestinians would respond by pushing forward their efforts to have Israeli leaders indicted at the International Criminal Court.</p>
<p>Around 71 per cent of Israelis voted, the highest turnout since 1999 and a reversal of a downward trend since 2009.</p>Israel newsBenjamin NetanyahuIsraeli electionsIsraeli government131898storyhttp://www.thejc.com/files/Netanyahu wins for web.jpg

Benjamin Netanyahu celebrates his election success

131891Israel awash with excitement on election day131066Likud fears vote collapse on Israel election day
In a remarkable last-minute turnaround, Benjamin Netanyahu has achieved a resounding victory in the Israeli elections.
With 99 per cent of ballots counted by 6am this morning local time, Likud emerged with 30 seats, six ahead of the next largest party bloc, Zionist Union, which won 24 seats.
Exit polls released at around 10pm the night before had indicated parity between the two main blocks.
This represented a major turnaround for Likud since the last pre-election poll was conducted on Friday, and at 1am Mr Netanyahu was already claiming a victory “against all odds”.
It is now certain that the next coalition will be led by Mr Netanyahu; probably composed of right-wing and religious parties.
Moshe Kahlon, leader of centrist party Kulanu, won 10 seats, and will still play a key role in helping Mr Netanyahu to build his coalition.
Left-wing party Meretz took four seats, and leader Zehava Galon said that she would resign.
The Arab Joint List was the third-largest party with 14 seats; followed by Yesh Atid with 11. Jewish Home took eight; Shas won seven, and Yisrael Beiteinu and United Torah Judaism took six each. It appeared that far-right party Yachad had failed to cross the electoral threshold.
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that he expected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form the next government and that the Palestinians would respond by pushing forward their efforts to have Israeli leaders indicted at the International Criminal Court.
Around 71 per cent of Israelis voted, the highest turnout since 1999 and a reversal of a downward trend since 2009.
Tue, 17 Mar 2015 17:51:32 +0000Orlando Radice131898 at http://www.thejc.comExit polls: Likud closes gap with Zionist Unionhttp://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/131897/exit-polls-likud-closes-gap-zionist-union
<p>Exit polls conducted by Israeli TV channels indicate that the leading party blocs are likely to win the same number of seats in the next Knesset.</p>
<p>This means that current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have a legitimate claim to form the next government, even though both groupings will seek coalitions on the left and right.</p>
<p>In what is being seen as a major turnaround for Likud in the final few days of campaigning, Mr Netanyahu’s party is estimated at taking 27 or 28 seats – up around six seats since the final pre-election poll closed on Friday. </p>
<p>Likud appears to have almost completely closed the gap with Zionist Union, which exit polls suggest will also take 27 seats.</p>
<p>Kulanu, Moshe Kahlon’s newcomer centrist party, is estimated at delivering 9-10 seats. With the two major groupings at parity, this result indicates that Mr Kahlon will be the kingmaker in the negotiations over what kind of coalition should form the government.</p>
<p>US commentator Jeffrey Goldberg tweeted: "Moshe Kahlon is now the world's most powerful Libyan."</p>
<p>Yonahan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, said: “There is everything to play for in the next few days.</p>
<p>“This was an impressive comeback by Mr Netanyahu. The media blitz in the past few days worked well. </p>
<p>“Likud took votes from other right wing parties such as Shas and Jewish Home.”</p>
<p>Mr Plesner added: “Both Netanyahu and Herzog will try to form their own government; if they fail they will go for a national unity government”</p>
<p>Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein told an election event earlier this evening that it was unlikely that results would be known before Friday.</p>
<p>This final numbers will be published on Thursday – by which time the 150-200,000 army votes will have been counted. </p>
<p>Mr Edelstein said that the question of whether some of the smaller parties had passed the 3.25 per cent electoral threshold would not be known until then.</p>
<p>The voter turnout is estimated at around 72 per cent, which marks a reversal of the downward trend since 2009. Election observers put the high turnout down to the fact that it was a very close race.</p>
<p>Zionist Union MK Nachman Shai said about the exit polls: “I am very pleased that Zionist Union doubled its political power, it’s a major success. It may not be enough to form a government. </p>
<p>"However, we believe we can build a coalition, I advise everyone to wait 48 hours before drawing conclusions. This is a tie, so there is no reason for Likud to celebrate.”</p>Israel newsBenjamin NetanyahuIsraeli electionsIsraeli government131897storyhttp://www.thejc.com/files/F150317FFMS05.jpg

131891Israel awash with excitement on election day131829Polls open as Israel prepares to elect new government
Exit polls conducted by Israeli TV channels indicate that the leading party blocs are likely to win the same number of seats in the next Knesset.
This means that current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have a legitimate claim to form the next government, even though both groupings will seek coalitions on the left and right.
In what is being seen as a major turnaround for Likud in the final few days of campaigning, Mr Netanyahu’s party is estimated at taking 27 or 28 seats – up around six seats since the final pre-election poll closed on Friday.
Likud appears to have almost completely closed the gap with Zionist Union, which exit polls suggest will also take 27 seats.
Kulanu, Moshe Kahlon’s newcomer centrist party, is estimated at delivering 9-10 seats. With the two major groupings at parity, this result indicates that Mr Kahlon will be the kingmaker in the negotiations over what kind of coalition should form the government.
US commentator Jeffrey Goldberg tweeted: "Moshe Kahlon is now the world's most powerful Libyan."
Yonahan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, said: “There is everything to play for in the next few days.
“This was an impressive comeback by Mr Netanyahu. The media blitz in the past few days worked well.
“Likud took votes from other right wing parties such as Shas and Jewish Home.”
Mr Plesner added: “Both Netanyahu and Herzog will try to form their own government; if they fail they will go for a national unity government”
Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein told an election event earlier this evening that it was unlikely that results would be known before Friday.
This final numbers will be published on Thursday – by which time the 150-200,000 army votes will have been counted.
Mr Edelstein said that the question of whether some of the smaller parties had passed the 3.25 per cent electoral threshold would not be known until then.
The voter turnout is estimated at around 72 per cent, which marks a reversal of the downward trend since 2009. Election observers put the high turnout down to the fact that it was a very close race.
Zionist Union MK Nachman Shai said about the exit polls: “I am very pleased that Zionist Union doubled its political power, it’s a major success. It may not be enough to form a government.
"However, we believe we can build a coalition, I advise everyone to wait 48 hours before drawing conclusions. This is a tie, so there is no reason for Likud to celebrate.”
Tue, 17 Mar 2015 17:48:22 +0000Orlando Radice131897 at http://www.thejc.comIsrael awash with excitement on election dayhttp://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/131891/israel-awash-excitement-election-day
<p>Israel is a land of a thousand opinions and high emotions, and the explosive brew comes to the boil on election day.</p>
<p>At the Love Israel School in Talpiot, a Jerusalem suburb, a group of 20-something supporters of Yisrael Beiteinu bedecked in party colours dance to the thud of a car stereo. </p>
<p>Young women at a Likud stall hand out baguettes to voters heading into the school, which today is doubling up as a polling station.</p>
<p>Jerusalem appears to be in the grip of election fever. Across town at the Meitarim bridge, singing, flag-waving Likud supporters prompt a flurry of car horns as they meander in front of the traffic.</p>
<p>Daniel Aschheim, 25, a Meretz volunteer, has taken up a position at the entrance of the school to persuade people to vote “anywhere on the left”.</p>
<p>He explained: “I have been walking around both left-wing and right-wing neighbourhoods, and people are saying, we can’t tolerate this anymore. People want to bring some new faces in, some new blood. I am not sure this can be achieved with coalitions.</p>
<p>“We need to bring down Netanyahu. Lots of left-wing voters are not sure which part of the left wing spectrum to go for. We are here just to say, vote anywhere left. We are bringing hope into this country.” </p>
<p>He added enthusiastically: “They say that 20 per cent of voters decide at the last minute. This time people feel that change needs to come.”</p>
<p>At 5pm, voter turnout was at around 45 per cent. The expected final turnout, based on previous elections, is expected to be between 63-67 per cent. The figure roughly matches turnout in the UK, although it is down from the 1950s and 1960s when around 80 per cent of the Israeli population voted. </p>
<p>At a polling booth for IDF soldiers at the Military Advocate General’s office in Tel Aviv, the excitement is palpable if more subdued. </p>
<p>Army votes, which number at around 150,000 to 200,000, will not be announced until Thursday. The votes, which are worth around four seats, could yet add another twist to a very closely-fought contest.</p>
<p>Since the last poll on Friday, which put the Zionist Union four seats ahead of Likud, campaigning by the Prime Minister’s party has taken on an increasingly shrill tone.</p>
<p>Earlier in the day, Likud released an official statement expressing its “concern” over the high voter turnout in the Arab sector. </p>
<p>Benjamin Netanyahu followed up by posting a clip on Facebook in which he said: “The rule of the right is in danger. Arab voters are coming in droves to the ballot boxes. Left wing NGOs bring them in buses.” </p>
<p>Zionist Union campaign strategist Dahlia Scheindlien said in response: “This is not reality. Arab voter turnout has been trending slowly upwards for a long time but the idea that there is a huge spike is just not true.</p>
<p>“This sort of scare tactic has angered even centrists. Some are angry with this manipulation; others just don’t buy it.”</p>
<p>In the Zionist Union campaign headquarters, where Ms Scheindlien was speaking, the sense of hope was clear. One of her colleagues said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the result.</p>
<p>The contrast with the atmosphere in the Likud campaign office was striking. Strategist Aaron Shaviv admitted that the prime minister could have spent more time meeting people face to face, in meetings and rallies. </p>
<p>“But first, it’s not simple for the PM to go to a public place. He needs 200 security guards. Also, he has to run the country. Going to Washington took up three weeks of his time,” Mr Shaviv said.</p>
<p>Back at the polling station in Jerusalem, Mr Aschheim speculated: “The reason why people are so interested in this election is not to do with the peace process. </p>
<p>“Most people feel that Netanyahu doesn’t care about them. He looks down from above, he’s in a very far-away place as the economy is not doing well and people are finding life hard.”</p>Israel newsIsraeli governmentPoliticsIsraeli elections131891storyhttp://www.thejc.com/files/F150317NS03.jpg

The scene outside a Jerusalem polling station today (Photo: Flash 90)

131884Netanyahu tells supporters Arabs are 'voting in droves'131829Polls open as Israel prepares to elect new government
Israel is a land of a thousand opinions and high emotions, and the explosive brew comes to the boil on election day.
At the Love Israel School in Talpiot, a Jerusalem suburb, a group of 20-something supporters of Yisrael Beiteinu bedecked in party colours dance to the thud of a car stereo.
Young women at a Likud stall hand out baguettes to voters heading into the school, which today is doubling up as a polling station.
Jerusalem appears to be in the grip of election fever. Across town at the Meitarim bridge, singing, flag-waving Likud supporters prompt a flurry of car horns as they meander in front of the traffic.
Daniel Aschheim, 25, a Meretz volunteer, has taken up a position at the entrance of the school to persuade people to vote “anywhere on the left”.
He explained: “I have been walking around both left-wing and right-wing neighbourhoods, and people are saying, we can’t tolerate this anymore. People want to bring some new faces in, some new blood. I am not sure this can be achieved with coalitions.
“We need to bring down Netanyahu. Lots of left-wing voters are not sure which part of the left wing spectrum to go for. We are here just to say, vote anywhere left. We are bringing hope into this country.”
He added enthusiastically: “They say that 20 per cent of voters decide at the last minute. This time people feel that change needs to come.”
At 5pm, voter turnout was at around 45 per cent. The expected final turnout, based on previous elections, is expected to be between 63-67 per cent. The figure roughly matches turnout in the UK, although it is down from the 1950s and 1960s when around 80 per cent of the Israeli population voted.
At a polling booth for IDF soldiers at the Military Advocate General’s office in Tel Aviv, the excitement is palpable if more subdued.
Army votes, which number at around 150,000 to 200,000, will not be announced until Thursday. The votes, which are worth around four seats, could yet add another twist to a very closely-fought contest.
Since the last poll on Friday, which put the Zionist Union four seats ahead of Likud, campaigning by the Prime Minister’s party has taken on an increasingly shrill tone.
Earlier in the day, Likud released an official statement expressing its “concern” over the high voter turnout in the Arab sector.
Benjamin Netanyahu followed up by posting a clip on Facebook in which he said: “The rule of the right is in danger. Arab voters are coming in droves to the ballot boxes. Left wing NGOs bring them in buses.”
Zionist Union campaign strategist Dahlia Scheindlien said in response: “This is not reality. Arab voter turnout has been trending slowly upwards for a long time but the idea that there is a huge spike is just not true.
“This sort of scare tactic has angered even centrists. Some are angry with this manipulation; others just don’t buy it.”
In the Zionist Union campaign headquarters, where Ms Scheindlien was speaking, the sense of hope was clear. One of her colleagues said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the result.
The contrast with the atmosphere in the Likud campaign office was striking. Strategist Aaron Shaviv admitted that the prime minister could have spent more time meeting people face to face, in meetings and rallies.
“But first, it’s not simple for the PM to go to a public place. He needs 200 security guards. Also, he has to run the country. Going to Washington took up three weeks of his time,” Mr Shaviv said.
Back at the polling station in Jerusalem, Mr Aschheim speculated: “The reason why people are so interested in this election is not to do with the peace process.
“Most people feel that Netanyahu doesn’t care about them. He looks down from above, he’s in a very far-away place as the economy is not doing well and people are finding life hard.”
Tue, 17 Mar 2015 16:28:49 +0000Orlando Radice131891 at http://www.thejc.comBibi tells Aipac: US and Israel are like a familyhttp://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/130848/bibi-tells-aipac-us-and-israel-are-a-family
<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Aipac conference in Washington today that the US and Israel were “like a family, practically a mishpacha”.</p>
<p>Mr Netanyahu, whose decision to address Congress tomorrow has caused a deep rift between the White house and Jerusalem, told the gathering of 16,000 delegates: “Our alliance is sound, our friendship is strong.”</p>
<p>The Israeli PM pointed out that the US and Israel have had spats in the past - for example, when Israeli launched a strike on an Iraqi reactor in 1981, and during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.</p>
<p>“Despite occasional disagreements, the friendship between America and Israel grew stronger and stronger, decade after decade,” he said.</p>
<p>He said that the relationship would weather the current disagreement “because we share the same dream”.</p>
<p>Mr Netanyahu said that Iran was “threatening to destroy Israel, is devouring country after country in the Middle East”. He added that the country was developing the capability to build nuclear weapons “as we speak”.</p>
<p>He said that the purpose of his Congress speech was to address the potential nuclear deal between Iran and the US.</p>
<p>Iran is the “foremost state sponsor” of terror in the world, he said. “This is what Iran is doing now without nuclear weapons. Imagine what would happen if it had nuclear weapons.”</p>Israel newsBarack ObamaBenjamin Netanyahu130848storyhttp://www.thejc.com/files/netanyahu_6.jpg

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that Iran was “threatening to destroy Israel&quot;

130206Was Netanyahu right to urge mass-immigration to Israel?129864Fury in US over Netanyahu speech plan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Aipac conference in Washington today that the US and Israel were “like a family, practically a mishpacha”.
Mr Netanyahu, whose decision to address Congress tomorrow has caused a deep rift between the White house and Jerusalem, told the gathering of 16,000 delegates: “Our alliance is sound, our friendship is strong.”
The Israeli PM pointed out that the US and Israel have had spats in the past - for example, when Israeli launched a strike on an Iraqi reactor in 1981, and during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.
“Despite occasional disagreements, the friendship between America and Israel grew stronger and stronger, decade after decade,” he said.
He said that the relationship would weather the current disagreement “because we share the same dream”.
Mr Netanyahu said that Iran was “threatening to destroy Israel, is devouring country after country in the Middle East”. He added that the country was developing the capability to build nuclear weapons “as we speak”.
He said that the purpose of his Congress speech was to address the potential nuclear deal between Iran and the US.
Iran is the “foremost state sponsor” of terror in the world, he said. “This is what Iran is doing now without nuclear weapons. Imagine what would happen if it had nuclear weapons.”
Mon, 02 Mar 2015 16:24:04 +0000Orlando Radice130848 at http://www.thejc.comInterview: Peter Beinarthttp://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/130565/interview-peter-beinart
<p>Jewish American academic Peter Beinart, a long-standing critic of Israeli policy in the West Bank and Gaza, has labelled the election "depressing" and hit out at the "timidity" of the centre-left coalition, Zionist Camp.</p>
<p>Mr Beinart, author of The Crisis of Zionism, in which he controversially advocated boycotting products from settlements, said he was disturbed by the lack of discussion of the Palestinian issue in election debates. "It is a sign of how insulated Israel has become from the problem," he said.</p>
<p>For Mr Beinart, who was in Britain this week on a speaking tour organised by anti-occupation group Yachad UK, including an appearance at Jewish Book Week, the silence on the Palestinian issue is only possible because of the PA's close co-operation over West Bank security, a situation that is unsustainable.</p>
<p>"The PA will collapse and Israel will be forced to reckon with the millions of people that it controls."</p>
<p>Mr Beinart was critical of Zionist Camp, arguing that the grouping had not shown enough courage in setting out exactly what a future Palestinian state would look like. "I understand that there are electoral calculations but to say you support a Palestinian state without supporting a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem is idiotic."</p>
<p>Mr Beinart accepted, however, that the Israeli military presence in the West Bank is a current necessity, arguing that a withdrawal without a peace deal would be "a recipe for disaster".</p>
<p>He also admitted that there were "legitimate concerns about how you would prevent weapons from coming across the border from Jordan" in a future Palestinian state.</p>
<p>Emphasising the urgent need for a two-state solution, he said: "I start from the principle that the Palestinians will never accept living under military rule and without free movement."</p>
<p>In an article in the New York Times in 2012, Mr Beinart advocated "Zionist BDS" - a boycott of settlement goods combined with renewed support for Israel within the Green Line. Some critics argued that the article fuelled the global BDS movement, which is regarded as a magnet for antisemites. </p>
<p>Today, despite mounting antisemitism and terror attacks on Jews in Europe, where the BDS movement has a very large following, Mr Beinart would not modify his position. </p>
<p>He said: "This is me playing my tiny part in making sure Israel survives. </p>
<p>"We have to have the ability to struggle relentlessly against antisemitism, and also say that what is going on in the West bank is a violation of what I as a Zionist believe in most deeply."</p>Israel newsIsraeli elections130565storyBeinart: poll is &#039;depressing&#039;http://www.thejc.com/files/images/26022015-beinart.jpg

Jewish American academic Peter Beinart, a long-standing critic of Israeli policy in the West Bank and Gaza, has labelled the election "depressing" and hit out at the "timidity" of the centre-left coalition, Zionist Camp.
Mr Beinart, author of The Crisis of Zionism, in which he controversially advocated boycotting products from settlements, said he was disturbed by the lack of discussion of the Palestinian issue in election debates. "It is a sign of how insulated Israel has become from the problem," he said.
For Mr Beinart, who was in Britain this week on a speaking tour organised by anti-occupation group Yachad UK, including an appearance at Jewish Book Week, the silence on the Palestinian issue is only possible because of the PA's close co-operation over West Bank security, a situation that is unsustainable.
"The PA will collapse and Israel will be forced to reckon with the millions of people that it controls."
Mr Beinart was critical of Zionist Camp, arguing that the grouping had not shown enough courage in setting out exactly what a future Palestinian state would look like. "I understand that there are electoral calculations but to say you support a Palestinian state without supporting a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem is idiotic."
Mr Beinart accepted, however, that the Israeli military presence in the West Bank is a current necessity, arguing that a withdrawal without a peace deal would be "a recipe for disaster".
He also admitted that there were "legitimate concerns about how you would prevent weapons from coming across the border from Jordan" in a future Palestinian state.
Emphasising the urgent need for a two-state solution, he said: "I start from the principle that the Palestinians will never accept living under military rule and without free movement."
In an article in the New York Times in 2012, Mr Beinart advocated "Zionist BDS" - a boycott of settlement goods combined with renewed support for Israel within the Green Line. Some critics argued that the article fuelled the global BDS movement, which is regarded as a magnet for antisemites.
Today, despite mounting antisemitism and terror attacks on Jews in Europe, where the BDS movement has a very large following, Mr Beinart would not modify his position.
He said: "This is me playing my tiny part in making sure Israel survives.
"We have to have the ability to struggle relentlessly against antisemitism, and also say that what is going on in the West bank is a violation of what I as a Zionist believe in most deeply."
Thu, 26 Feb 2015 12:35:22 +0000Orlando Radice130565 at http://www.thejc.comEuropean Jewish leaders push to outlaw antisemitismhttp://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/129304/european-jewish-leaders-push-outlaw-antisemitism
<p>European Jewish leaders have launched a campaign to create new continent-wide legislation that outlaws antisemitism.</p>
<p>The European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR), a panel of legal experts, presented a document on “tolerance” at a conference on extremism, part of a two-day event in Prague last week to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.</p>
<p>The document, which has taken three years to compile, aims to provide a legal basis for criminalising activities deemed to violate fundamental religious, cultural and gender rights.</p>
<p>Under such legislation, banning the burka, female genital mutilation and denial of the Holocaust would be outlawed.</p>
<p>The ECTR, which is co-chaired by European Jewish Congress president Moshe Kantor, hopes that the document can be converted into law by the EU member states.</p>
<p>Mr Kantor told the conference: “We believe that democracy and the rule of law can prevent the unthinkable from happening again”.</p>
<p>“The tragedies in Paris and Brussels show that there are deep structural problems in European society. Multiculturalism is giving birth to monocultural ghettos.”</p>
<p>Several MEPs present at the conference in Prague Castle were vocal in their support for the planned law. </p>
<p>However, Vera Jourouva, an EU justice commissioner, admitted that while some European countries already have laws that cover hate speech such as Holocaust denial, overall there is a lack of political will to implement them. She said: “This is something I am working on right now – to get individual member states to implement their promises on cracking down on hate speech.”</p>
<p>Director of the US-based Anti-Defamation League Abraham Foxman, speaking during a panel discussion on how the media is used to promote antisemitism, criticised the ECTR proposal, arguing that society should police itself. He said: “I see the answer in civil society. In the US if you are a bigot you pay a price, not but law but by the censure of society.”</p>
<p>“Even if you have legislation, countries don’t apply it.”</p>
<p>Mr Foxman argued that a clear distinction should be made between incitement to violence, for which a person can be arrested and charged, and offensive or hateful speech, which should not be criminalised. </p>
<p>He added, however, that special measures were required to tackle those who fail to disclose their identities while disseminating hate speech on the internet. “If you want to be bigot you have to take responsibility for it”.</p>
<p>French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy went further, arguing that the wearing of the burka was also tantamount to hiding one’s identity, and therefore runs against the spirit and laws of a democratic society. “Freedom of expression yes, but with a name and a face,” he declared.</p>
<p>Yoram Dinstein, one of the legal experts who created the ECTR document, argued that hate speech and incitement could only be seen as inherently connected. He said: “Does incitement only start when it is time to send the Jews to the gas chambers?”</p>
<p>He added that under his model law, the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists who published drawings of the Prophet Mohammed would have been prosecuted. “That was a case of a particular group acting against another in a libellous fashion.</p>
<p>“The issue is that we must not tolerate the intolerant. The issue is liberty now or tyranny later.”</p>World newsAntisemitismEuropean Union129304story

129095Terezin, a nightmare where the music played on128242Lesson from Paris? We have to ﬁght hatred with all we have
European Jewish leaders have launched a campaign to create new continent-wide legislation that outlaws antisemitism.
The European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR), a panel of legal experts, presented a document on “tolerance” at a conference on extremism, part of a two-day event in Prague last week to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
The document, which has taken three years to compile, aims to provide a legal basis for criminalising activities deemed to violate fundamental religious, cultural and gender rights.
Under such legislation, banning the burka, female genital mutilation and denial of the Holocaust would be outlawed.
The ECTR, which is co-chaired by European Jewish Congress president Moshe Kantor, hopes that the document can be converted into law by the EU member states.
Mr Kantor told the conference: “We believe that democracy and the rule of law can prevent the unthinkable from happening again”.
“The tragedies in Paris and Brussels show that there are deep structural problems in European society. Multiculturalism is giving birth to monocultural ghettos.”
Several MEPs present at the conference in Prague Castle were vocal in their support for the planned law.
However, Vera Jourouva, an EU justice commissioner, admitted that while some European countries already have laws that cover hate speech such as Holocaust denial, overall there is a lack of political will to implement them. She said: “This is something I am working on right now – to get individual member states to implement their promises on cracking down on hate speech.”
Director of the US-based Anti-Defamation League Abraham Foxman, speaking during a panel discussion on how the media is used to promote antisemitism, criticised the ECTR proposal, arguing that society should police itself. He said: “I see the answer in civil society. In the US if you are a bigot you pay a price, not but law but by the censure of society.”
“Even if you have legislation, countries don’t apply it.”
Mr Foxman argued that a clear distinction should be made between incitement to violence, for which a person can be arrested and charged, and offensive or hateful speech, which should not be criminalised.
He added, however, that special measures were required to tackle those who fail to disclose their identities while disseminating hate speech on the internet. “If you want to be bigot you have to take responsibility for it”.
French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy went further, arguing that the wearing of the burka was also tantamount to hiding one’s identity, and therefore runs against the spirit and laws of a democratic society. “Freedom of expression yes, but with a name and a face,” he declared.
Yoram Dinstein, one of the legal experts who created the ECTR document, argued that hate speech and incitement could only be seen as inherently connected. He said: “Does incitement only start when it is time to send the Jews to the gas chambers?”
He added that under his model law, the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists who published drawings of the Prophet Mohammed would have been prosecuted. “That was a case of a particular group acting against another in a libellous fashion.
“The issue is that we must not tolerate the intolerant. The issue is liberty now or tyranny later.”
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 15:46:25 +0000Orlando Radice129304 at http://www.thejc.comTerezin, a nightmare where the music played onhttp://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/129095/terezin-a-nightmare-where-music-played
<p>Under low-slung clouds, the voices of Moscow's Male Jewish Choir rung out across the western ghetto of Terezin. </p>
<p>A coronet that had not been played at the camp since the war came to melancholic life in the hands of a member of a clarinet trio. </p>
<p>Children performed part of Brundibar, an opera that premiered in 1944 in a building metres away.</p>
<p>Nearby, colourful pictures by young inmates of the camp, tethered to strings, fluttered in the wind.</p>
<p>Music, innocence, art - and death. </p>
<p>Ninety two-year-old Czech doctor Felix Kolmer, a survivor of Terezin and Auschwitz, was helped onto the stage. </p>
<p>Standing above a potholed road that, 70 years ago, was used to transport the ashes of inmates, he said: "We lived the nightmare for the rest of our lives. In our dreams we our friends dying in our arms, we see the smoke coming out of the chimneys, the skeletons, the sunken eyes. We are haunted by our tormentors. </p>
<p>"We were appointed to die but, by chance, we survived." </p>
<p>In its grim juxtapositions, the ceremony at Terezin on Tuesday to mark International Holocaust Memorial Day and 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz - a symbolic date set by the UN as end of the Shoah across Europe - reflected the perverse place that the Czech camp holds in Holocaust history.</p>
<p>Of the 144,000 who were interned at Terezin (also known as by its German name, Theresienstadt), around 35,000 died on site. Around 87,000 were deported to be murdered at other camps, including Auschwitz. And yet it was designated by the Nazis as a "model" facility, a sickening propaganda experiment in which cultural life was encouraged in order to convince the outside world that the Jews were not being slaughtered. </p>
<p>Camp inmates clung onto that falsehood for dear life. There were chamber groups and jazz ensembles; stage performances were produced and attended by prisoners. Tickets for some of the performances were even sold in Prague, 60 km away. Well-known artists, musicians, academics and scientists from across Europe all contributed to the camp's cultural life. </p>
<p>"At Terezin, culture was the last fragile thread that connected its inmates to the human condition," said actor Ben Kingsley at the ceremony. But because of that, he said, "Terezin housed a devilish lie" - it allowed its inmates to dream of normality. </p>
<p>Those dreams were visible in the pictures by child inmates. The reproductions of line drawings, colourful paintings and illustrated diaries, attached to strings along a path leading to the site of the ceremony, were a vision of exuberance now painful to see. </p>
<p>"It was a place where everything meant something else. The Nazis told inmates that they were creating a home for Jews in Madagascar. Of course that was not true. Madagascar meant deportation. Terezin meant Auschwitz and Auschwitz meant death. In the Shoah, the meaning of every place resided in the next place," said Mr Kingsley.</p>
<p>The lie that the Nazis kept up about Terezin was sufficiently elaborate for them to invite the Red Cross to inspect the camp in 1944. Commanders prepared a fake coffee shop, a bank, schools and flower gardens for the visit. Using those props, the Nazis created a propaganda film showing prisoners living comfortable, happy lives.</p>
<p>All of those who appeared in the film were shipped to Auschwitz. This, of course, was the true meaning of Terezin. </p>
<p>As Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka told delegates at a memorial conference held jointly by the European Jewish Congress and the European Parliament the day before the commemoration at the camp: "The distance from Auschwitz to Terezin is about 500km. Today it can be covered in a few hours. Seventy years ago, it was the distance between life and death." </p>
<p>The grandparents of Veronqiue Harari-Ajzenberg, director of the Friends of the Crif, the umbrella group for French Jewish organisations, were both taken to Terezin. "The mother of my mother was snatched by French police in 1944 and ended up there. She got sick there and was not alive when the camp was liberated." </p>
<p>Ms Harari-Ajzenberg said that the recent attack in Paris and Nazis' establishment of the camp were connected because on both occasions, Jews were struck by a hatred that appeared to come out of nowhere. </p>
<p>"Yes, there is a connection. Nobody thought that the attack could have happened in France, it was unbelievable. You go to do your Shabbat shopping and you are killed because you are Jewish. Today, like then, people are trying to destroy our civilisation."</p>
<p>The day before the ceremony at Terezin, the question of how the lessons of the Holocaust could be applied to Europe today was debated in a series of panel discussions at Prague Castle.</p>
<p>Responding to widespread concerns about the threats faced by French Jews, and whether there were similarities between the period before the Second World War and today, French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy argued that European Jews are now safer because they have a stronger sense of identity. "In the 1930s the Jews were weak and vulnerable and uninformed. They did not know what was coming. They now have strength because they are proud of their Jewishness, as well as because of what they have learnt from the Shoah." </p>
<p>For US historian Timothy Snyder, the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz was an opportunity to reinforce historical truth against what he called the "postmodern denial" of the internet age.</p>
<p>"Freedom of expression with a postmodern denial of truth is a very dangerous mixture. On the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, there are historical facts which are true that are worth remembering. </p>
<p>"For example, most Americans think that the US army liberated Auschwitz, which is ridiculous. The Soviet armed forces liberated Auschwitz. They essentially won the Second World War. At the same time, the Holocaust largely happened on the territory of the Soviet Union, most of which it had taken by invading Poland and the Baltic states."</p>World newsCzech RepublicHolocaust Memorial Day129095storyhttp://www.thejc.com/files/images/29012015-RTR4N6Q7new.jpg

A girl carries a candle at the Terezin event

Under low-slung clouds, the voices of Moscow's Male Jewish Choir rung out across the western ghetto of Terezin.
A coronet that had not been played at the camp since the war came to melancholic life in the hands of a member of a clarinet trio.
Children performed part of Brundibar, an opera that premiered in 1944 in a building metres away.
Nearby, colourful pictures by young inmates of the camp, tethered to strings, fluttered in the wind.
Music, innocence, art - and death.
Ninety two-year-old Czech doctor Felix Kolmer, a survivor of Terezin and Auschwitz, was helped onto the stage.
Standing above a potholed road that, 70 years ago, was used to transport the ashes of inmates, he said: "We lived the nightmare for the rest of our lives. In our dreams we our friends dying in our arms, we see the smoke coming out of the chimneys, the skeletons, the sunken eyes. We are haunted by our tormentors.
"We were appointed to die but, by chance, we survived."
In its grim juxtapositions, the ceremony at Terezin on Tuesday to mark International Holocaust Memorial Day and 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz - a symbolic date set by the UN as end of the Shoah across Europe - reflected the perverse place that the Czech camp holds in Holocaust history.
Of the 144,000 who were interned at Terezin (also known as by its German name, Theresienstadt), around 35,000 died on site. Around 87,000 were deported to be murdered at other camps, including Auschwitz. And yet it was designated by the Nazis as a "model" facility, a sickening propaganda experiment in which cultural life was encouraged in order to convince the outside world that the Jews were not being slaughtered.
Camp inmates clung onto that falsehood for dear life. There were chamber groups and jazz ensembles; stage performances were produced and attended by prisoners. Tickets for some of the performances were even sold in Prague, 60 km away. Well-known artists, musicians, academics and scientists from across Europe all contributed to the camp's cultural life.
"At Terezin, culture was the last fragile thread that connected its inmates to the human condition," said actor Ben Kingsley at the ceremony. But because of that, he said, "Terezin housed a devilish lie" - it allowed its inmates to dream of normality.
Those dreams were visible in the pictures by child inmates. The reproductions of line drawings, colourful paintings and illustrated diaries, attached to strings along a path leading to the site of the ceremony, were a vision of exuberance now painful to see.
"It was a place where everything meant something else. The Nazis told inmates that they were creating a home for Jews in Madagascar. Of course that was not true. Madagascar meant deportation. Terezin meant Auschwitz and Auschwitz meant death. In the Shoah, the meaning of every place resided in the next place," said Mr Kingsley.
The lie that the Nazis kept up about Terezin was sufficiently elaborate for them to invite the Red Cross to inspect the camp in 1944. Commanders prepared a fake coffee shop, a bank, schools and flower gardens for the visit. Using those props, the Nazis created a propaganda film showing prisoners living comfortable, happy lives.
All of those who appeared in the film were shipped to Auschwitz. This, of course, was the true meaning of Terezin.
As Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka told delegates at a memorial conference held jointly by the European Jewish Congress and the European Parliament the day before the commemoration at the camp: "The distance from Auschwitz to Terezin is about 500km. Today it can be covered in a few hours. Seventy years ago, it was the distance between life and death."
The grandparents of Veronqiue Harari-Ajzenberg, director of the Friends of the Crif, the umbrella group for French Jewish organisations, were both taken to Terezin. "The mother of my mother was snatched by French police in 1944 and ended up there. She got sick there and was not alive when the camp was liberated."
Ms Harari-Ajzenberg said that the recent attack in Paris and Nazis' establishment of the camp were connected because on both occasions, Jews were struck by a hatred that appeared to come out of nowhere.
"Yes, there is a connection. Nobody thought that the attack could have happened in France, it was unbelievable. You go to do your Shabbat shopping and you are killed because you are Jewish. Today, like then, people are trying to destroy our civilisation."
The day before the ceremony at Terezin, the question of how the lessons of the Holocaust could be applied to Europe today was debated in a series of panel discussions at Prague Castle.
Responding to widespread concerns about the threats faced by French Jews, and whether there were similarities between the period before the Second World War and today, French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy argued that European Jews are now safer because they have a stronger sense of identity. "In the 1930s the Jews were weak and vulnerable and uninformed. They did not know what was coming. They now have strength because they are proud of their Jewishness, as well as because of what they have learnt from the Shoah."
For US historian Timothy Snyder, the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz was an opportunity to reinforce historical truth against what he called the "postmodern denial" of the internet age.
"Freedom of expression with a postmodern denial of truth is a very dangerous mixture. On the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, there are historical facts which are true that are worth remembering.
"For example, most Americans think that the US army liberated Auschwitz, which is ridiculous. The Soviet armed forces liberated Auschwitz. They essentially won the Second World War. At the same time, the Holocaust largely happened on the territory of the Soviet Union, most of which it had taken by invading Poland and the Baltic states."
Thu, 29 Jan 2015 11:40:42 +0000Orlando Radice129095 at http://www.thejc.comAfter the Charlie Hebdo attack: what else can we expect?http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/127847/after-charlie-hebdo-attack-what-else-can-we-expect
<p>French Muslim extremists have been responsible for two of Europe’s most horrific recent antisemitic attacks, and Islamist-inspired assaults on Jews and firebombings of synagogues are now regular occurrences in France. </p>
<p>Few doubt that the murderous attack on Charlie Hebdo was part of the same pattern. Radical Islamists see Jews, Zionism and the Western media as part of a conspiracy of apostates and, as such, all are targets. </p>
<p>The fact that one of those murdered, lead cartoonist Georges Wolinski, was Jewish, may well have further fed into the attackers’ warped outlook.</p>
<p>Terrorism specialists now warn of a heightened threat to Jews across Europe — including the UK.</p>
<p>British counter-terror expert Professor Andrew Silke says an “upsurge in Islamist terrorism in France and neighbouring countries will almost inevitably incorporate increased threats to Jewish targets”. </p>
<p>The increasing number of attacks on Jews in France is evidence that they are seen by Islamists as soft targets, according to Raffaello Pantucci, director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute. </p>
<p>He adds that European synagogues now require increased security to accommodate the stepped-up threat. “For the Jewish community, there is a need for a higher security presence. There have been a number of antisemitic attacks in the past couple of weeks; they keep on being repeated. Clearly, extremists in France see the Jewish community as valid targets.” </p>
<p>For others, a repetition of the Charlie Hebdo attack in the UK is bound to happen. Maajid Nawaz, the chairman of the Quilliam Foundation and a Lib Dem parliamentary candidate, said that a similar attack is “inevitable in Britain. There’s not more extremism in France than anywhere else. In Britain, you have [people] like Jihadi John. There is a crisis in the whole of Europe. We are reaching a crisis level of emergency.” </p>
<p>The fact that fewer attacks on Jews have taken place in the UK is often put down to the strong relationship between the community’s security organisation, CST, and the police and intelligence services. </p>
<p>David Delew, chief executive of CST, said: “The Paris attack is exactly why CST has been on its second highest level of alert for a number of years, with the highest level being reserved for when an actual attack against British Jews has occurred, or is known to be imminent.” </p>
<p>Meanwhile, an educator at an ORT school on the outskirts of Paris, suggested that the Charlie Hebdo attack may give French gentiles a better understanding of what Israelis and French Jews are going through.</p>
<p>In the medium-term, the attack on Wednesday holds a different kind of bad news for the Jewish community in France. The fact that Islamists were probably responsible is likely to push more voters into the arms of the National Front, which, despite its efforts to distance itself from its fascist past under Jean Marie Le Pen, is still riven with antisemitism.</p>
<p>Associate director of the Henry Jackson Society, Douglas Murray, commented: “The tragedy is that because the mainstream parties have not dealt with this problem [of Islamist extremism], the National Front looks to be the only vote-winner. To say that this is a catastrophe for French Jews is an understatement. </p>
<p>“I now agree with the view that there is no future for Jews in France.”</p>
<p>Anthony Glees, who directs the University of Buckingham’s Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, said: “That French Jews should feel they are particularly vulnerable in these circumstances is hardly surprising. </p>
<p>“However, I’d not look at it like that myself: the attack on Hebdo is an attack on all French people, including the Jews of France; it’s also an attack on all free people everywhere.” </p>World newsMediaExtremismParisFrance127847storyhttp://www.thejc.com/files/Paris web again.jpg

Gunmen face police near the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Wednesday

127833We too are Charlie127821‘Charlie Hebdo attackers shouted: the Prophet has been avenged’
French Muslim extremists have been responsible for two of Europe’s most horrific recent antisemitic attacks, and Islamist-inspired assaults on Jews and firebombings of synagogues are now regular occurrences in France.
Few doubt that the murderous attack on Charlie Hebdo was part of the same pattern. Radical Islamists see Jews, Zionism and the Western media as part of a conspiracy of apostates and, as such, all are targets.
The fact that one of those murdered, lead cartoonist Georges Wolinski, was Jewish, may well have further fed into the attackers’ warped outlook.
Terrorism specialists now warn of a heightened threat to Jews across Europe — including the UK.
British counter-terror expert Professor Andrew Silke says an “upsurge in Islamist terrorism in France and neighbouring countries will almost inevitably incorporate increased threats to Jewish targets”.
The increasing number of attacks on Jews in France is evidence that they are seen by Islamists as soft targets, according to Raffaello Pantucci, director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute.
He adds that European synagogues now require increased security to accommodate the stepped-up threat. “For the Jewish community, there is a need for a higher security presence. There have been a number of antisemitic attacks in the past couple of weeks; they keep on being repeated. Clearly, extremists in France see the Jewish community as valid targets.”
For others, a repetition of the Charlie Hebdo attack in the UK is bound to happen. Maajid Nawaz, the chairman of the Quilliam Foundation and a Lib Dem parliamentary candidate, said that a similar attack is “inevitable in Britain. There’s not more extremism in France than anywhere else. In Britain, you have [people] like Jihadi John. There is a crisis in the whole of Europe. We are reaching a crisis level of emergency.”
The fact that fewer attacks on Jews have taken place in the UK is often put down to the strong relationship between the community’s security organisation, CST, and the police and intelligence services.
David Delew, chief executive of CST, said: “The Paris attack is exactly why CST has been on its second highest level of alert for a number of years, with the highest level being reserved for when an actual attack against British Jews has occurred, or is known to be imminent.”
Meanwhile, an educator at an ORT school on the outskirts of Paris, suggested that the Charlie Hebdo attack may give French gentiles a better understanding of what Israelis and French Jews are going through.
In the medium-term, the attack on Wednesday holds a different kind of bad news for the Jewish community in France. The fact that Islamists were probably responsible is likely to push more voters into the arms of the National Front, which, despite its efforts to distance itself from its fascist past under Jean Marie Le Pen, is still riven with antisemitism.
Associate director of the Henry Jackson Society, Douglas Murray, commented: “The tragedy is that because the mainstream parties have not dealt with this problem [of Islamist extremism], the National Front looks to be the only vote-winner. To say that this is a catastrophe for French Jews is an understatement.
“I now agree with the view that there is no future for Jews in France.”
Anthony Glees, who directs the University of Buckingham’s Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, said: “That French Jews should feel they are particularly vulnerable in these circumstances is hardly surprising.
“However, I’d not look at it like that myself: the attack on Hebdo is an attack on all French people, including the Jews of France; it’s also an attack on all free people everywhere.”
Thu, 08 Jan 2015 10:06:07 +0000Orlando Radice127847 at http://www.thejc.comPalestinians push for ICC war crimes probehttp://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/127605/palestinians-push-icc-war-crimes-probe
<p>The Palestinian Authority has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel for alleged war crimes.</p>
<p>President Mahmoud Abbas signed the Rome Statute – the founding treaty of the ICC - on Wednesday and filed a request for Palestine to join the international court as a member state.</p>
<p>The move followed the PA’s failed bid to win UN Security Council backing for a two-year deadline on Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines and the creation of a Palestinian state.</p>
<p>On Thursday, Mr Abbas requested an investigation into the conduct of the IDF during last summer’s war with Hamas. The ICC will take several weeks to process his submission.</p>
<p>Legal experts say that there will be many hurdles for the Palestinians to cross before they can begin filing war crimes indictments against individual Israelis.</p>
<p>Israel argues that its war against Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of around 2,200 Gazans, was legal under the ‘laws of war’ because the terror group had hidden its rocket launchers among and beneath residential neighbourhoods, as well as next to schools and hospitals. According to the IDF, this meant that civilian casualties were an unavoidable consequence of the pursuit of legitimate military objectives.</p>World newsUnited NationsPalestinian Authority127605story

125295ICC throws out Gaza flotilla 'war crimes' case118775Ex-ICC lawyer praises Israeli legal system
The Palestinian Authority has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel for alleged war crimes.
President Mahmoud Abbas signed the Rome Statute – the founding treaty of the ICC - on Wednesday and filed a request for Palestine to join the international court as a member state.
The move followed the PA’s failed bid to win UN Security Council backing for a two-year deadline on Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines and the creation of a Palestinian state.
On Thursday, Mr Abbas requested an investigation into the conduct of the IDF during last summer’s war with Hamas. The ICC will take several weeks to process his submission.
Legal experts say that there will be many hurdles for the Palestinians to cross before they can begin filing war crimes indictments against individual Israelis.
Israel argues that its war against Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of around 2,200 Gazans, was legal under the ‘laws of war’ because the terror group had hidden its rocket launchers among and beneath residential neighbourhoods, as well as next to schools and hospitals. According to the IDF, this meant that civilian casualties were an unavoidable consequence of the pursuit of legitimate military objectives.
Fri, 02 Jan 2015 15:27:14 +0000Orlando Radice127605 at http://www.thejc.comPalestinians accelerate statehood push at UNhttp://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/126780/palestinians-accelerate-statehood-push-un
<p>The Palestinian Authority is planning to submit a draft resolution to the UN on ending the Israeli occupation by Monday evening, with a view to having the Security Council vote on the text by Wednesday.</p>
<p>The resolution sets out a two-year timetable for Israel to withdraw its forces from the West Bank.</p>
<p>A delegation of Arab leaders will ask the US not to use its veto to block the resolution when they meet US Secretary of State John Kerry in London on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded on Monday that Israel would “not accept attempts to dictate unilateral moves". </p>
<p>Mr Netanyahu is due to meet Mr Kerry in Rome today.</p>World newsPalestine126780storyhttp://www.thejc.com/files/Mahmoud_Abbas.jpg

126328France votes for Palestine126586Palestinian minister dies after West Bank protest
The Palestinian Authority is planning to submit a draft resolution to the UN on ending the Israeli occupation by Monday evening, with a view to having the Security Council vote on the text by Wednesday.
The resolution sets out a two-year timetable for Israel to withdraw its forces from the West Bank.
A delegation of Arab leaders will ask the US not to use its veto to block the resolution when they meet US Secretary of State John Kerry in London on Tuesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded on Monday that Israel would “not accept attempts to dictate unilateral moves".
Mr Netanyahu is due to meet Mr Kerry in Rome today.
Mon, 15 Dec 2014 09:53:05 +0000Orlando Radice126780 at http://www.thejc.comPolish court rules shechita ban is ‘against human rights’http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/126593/polish-court-rules-shechita-ban-against-human-rights%E2%80%99
<p>The was relief across Europe this week as Poland’s constitutional court ruled that the country’s ban on shechita ran against both the country’s basic laws and the European Convention on Human Rights. </p>
<p>Organisations including the Rabbinical Council of Europe, the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) and Shechita UK have been petitioning the government since a ruling by the Polish constitutional court in 2013 effectively outlawed kosher slaughter.</p>
<p>According to local reports, the court decided that the ban violated the European Convention on Human Rights and led to “discrimination in social and economic life of Jews in Poland”.</p>
<p>Around one third of kosher meat in the UK is sourced from Poland.</p>
<p>Commenting on the precedent set by the ruling, Dayan Yisroel Lichtenstein, head of the Federation Beth Din, said: “This decision is as important as the American Supreme Court ruling that shechita is humane and that banning it violates human rights”.</p>
<p>Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, President of the CER, said: “We are extremely pleased that shechita can continue in Poland as it has done for generations… The repercussions of this ban would have had a far reaching impact across Europe. Poland has today set a precedent for other countries on matters of religious freedom.”</p>
<p>Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich said: “This has been a long and difficult campaign and I would to pay tribute to the justices for reaching a fair and welcome decision. </p>
<p>“I would also like to pay tribute to the leadership of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland for their steadfastness in addressing this issue, and we are grateful for the invaluable support of the Conference of European Rabbis and Shechita UK.”</p>World newsPolandshechita126593storyhttp://www.thejc.com/files/chicken_3.jpg

125231No move to ban shechita, MP promises123641'Poisonous' Belgian far-right party uses abattoir regulation to urge shechita ban
The was relief across Europe this week as Poland’s constitutional court ruled that the country’s ban on shechita ran against both the country’s basic laws and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Organisations including the Rabbinical Council of Europe, the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) and Shechita UK have been petitioning the government since a ruling by the Polish constitutional court in 2013 effectively outlawed kosher slaughter.
According to local reports, the court decided that the ban violated the European Convention on Human Rights and led to “discrimination in social and economic life of Jews in Poland”.
Around one third of kosher meat in the UK is sourced from Poland.
Commenting on the precedent set by the ruling, Dayan Yisroel Lichtenstein, head of the Federation Beth Din, said: “This decision is as important as the American Supreme Court ruling that shechita is humane and that banning it violates human rights”.
Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, President of the CER, said: “We are extremely pleased that shechita can continue in Poland as it has done for generations… The repercussions of this ban would have had a far reaching impact across Europe. Poland has today set a precedent for other countries on matters of religious freedom.”
Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich said: “This has been a long and difficult campaign and I would to pay tribute to the justices for reaching a fair and welcome decision.
“I would also like to pay tribute to the leadership of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland for their steadfastness in addressing this issue, and we are grateful for the invaluable support of the Conference of European Rabbis and Shechita UK.”
Wed, 10 Dec 2014 17:15:45 +0000Orlando Radice126593 at http://www.thejc.com